Nonrefillable bottle



1943- I G. S. RIDNER, SR, ETAL I 2,308,828

NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE Filed Aug. 22, 1940 M w i v- Patented Jan. 19, 1943 NQNRE'FILLABLE' BOTTLE George S. Ridner, S12, and George S. Ri'dner, Jn, Newark, N. J'.

Application August: 22, 1940;. Serial'No; 353,740

3 Claims.

This. invention relates to non-refillable bottles, and" more particularly to the: valves disposed within the necks of such bottles which permit the contents to be poured therefrom but prevent liquids from being introduced into the bottles In order to protect their products against sub stitution or dilution: with consequent impairment of the good will which has been built up by extensive advertising inbottled goods sold under brand names, some manufacturers have adopted the practice of marketing their products in nonrefill'able bottles. This isespecially true in the case of manufacturers of liquors; since empty bottles. bearing the government revenue stamps f q n ly find their way? into the hands of illicit liquor vendors who fill them with an irrferior grade of liquor for: resale to the: public under the original manufacturers? labels- Non-refillable bottles, however, have not attained widespread use due to several reasons: (1) because of the increased cost which renders the use of non-refillable bottles prohibitive for' liquids retailed in small quantities and upon a narrow margin of profit; (2) because of the mechanical difficulties inherent in. thevalvesi of such bottles: which may cause them to stick or otherwise get out of order so as to obstruct the.

free flow of liquid; and (3) because of the op portunity afforded by the Valves to tampering or fixing so as to circumvent: their intended function.

The first and second of the above objections result from the relatively complicated, and hence uneconomical, valve constructions which heretofore have been proposed for non-refillable bottles. The third objection isalso related more or less directly to the first two, for no matter how efficient and tamper-proof. a valve may be, it will possess little commercial value unlessit is positive and reliable in operation and of such simple construction as not to add materially to the cost of the bottle.

The relative eifi'ciencies of valves for non-refillable bottles may be judged. fromthree different stand'points; First, the. inaccessibility of the working parts of the valve totools or implements, such for example as bent wires or hooks, by which the valve may be temporarily rendered. inoperative and thus allow unauthorizedv refilling of the bottles; second, the extent to which the. valve prevents inflow when the bottle is submerged in a tank of liquid; and third,

the ability of the working parts: of thevalve to remain seated and closethe pouring. passage extending through the vallve when suction is' applied. to the bottle;

It: is an. important object of our invention to. provide a. valve for non-refillable bottles which overcomes the. previously existing: objections to this type; of. valve and which is: so constructed and arranged as to insure: the: tight closure. of the pouring. passage under any: of the conditions mentioned. More particularlytheinvention contemplates the provision of a valve of the. foregoing character which includes a gravity" seated.

ball adapted to cooperate with two different ports located in the pouring passage so that when the bottle is tilted slightly out of vertical position: tounseat the ball. from one of its ports, such ball automatically rolls overv into seating engagement with the other port to close the pouring; passage, thus preventing the refilling of the bottle by submerging it; either in an upright or tilted: position, within a tank of liquid; Furthermore; in' accordance with our invention, the ball and seat are so constructed and: arranged that suction applied to the mouth of the bottle draws the ball tightly against one of itsseats' to? close the pouring, passage.- Inthe preferred form of our invention we arrange a second ball in series with the first-mentioned ball, the second ball being adapted to seat by gravity against a port in the pouring passage and Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of thevalve on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view onthe line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, I indicates a valve adapted to be locked in the neck of' a nonrefillable bottle 2 indicated by phantom lines in Fig. 1'. This valve'is preferably molded from a suitable plastic material, such for example, as Bakelite; which will not affect, or'b'e affected by;

the liquid adapted to be contained within the bottle.

The lower end of the valve comprises a cylindrical hollow plug 3 snugly fitting within and ers and closes the port when the bottle is in upright position, but is free to roll awayand uncover the port to permit liquid to flow therethrough when the bottle is tilted through a pouring angle. 7 1

Above the plug 3 and connected by an inclined partition 6 is a cage I of generally dome shape. The bottom of the cage is provided with a port 8 opening to one side of the partition and this port is adapted to be closed by a ball 9 which seats by gravity over this port. The cage is provided with a second port III opening through its sidewall upon that side of the partition 6 cpposite to the port 8. The ports 8' and III are located in close proximity, being separated by a narrow web II, and at approximately right angles to each other. The arrangement is such that tilting the bottle through a small angle causes the ball 9 to roll over the narrow web which separates the ports and seat against the port I0; and continued tilting of the bottle into pouring position resultsin the ball rolling into the space provided in' the closed top of the' dome-shaped cage (indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3) leaving both ports uncovered and in communication with each other.

The cage I is smaller in transverse dimension than the 'neck of the bottle so as "to afford a suitable external clearance for the passage of the liquid. In order to seal the sides of the valve and to direct the liquid through port 4 and thencethrough ports I0 and 8 in succession (as indicated by arrows in Fig. 3), a pair of upright ribs I2 project outwardly from the sides of the cage and the partition 6, and these ribs make a tight fit with the inner circumference of the bottle neck.

Overlying and forming part of the top of the cage is a circular cap I3 adapted to snugly fit within the bottle neck. This cap includes a web I4 closing ofi a portion of the cap from that side of the valve providing comunication between the ports 4 and Ill. its other side so as toprovide a discharge vent I5 for liquid passing out of the valve. For locking the valve within the bottle neck, the cap is exteriorly grooved as indicated at I6, to receive a split locking ring I! which latter is tapered in transverse cross-section, as indicated in Fig.

1. Similarly the inside of the bottle neck is provided with a circular groove III; the arrangement being such that when the ring is assembled in the groove I6 and the valve is longitudinally inserted into the neck of the bottle, the split ring is contracted until it arrives opposite the groove I8, in which position it snaps into this groove andsecurely locks the valve to the bottle.

A flange I9 extends transversely from theexterior of the cage 1 so as to engage the bottle neck and serve as a guard against tampering. This flange is suitably provided with apertures 20 to allow the flow of liquid therepast. A shelf 2| bridging the discharge vent I5 is also provided on the cap I3 which serves in addition to the guard flange I9 to prevent the introduction of implements into the bottle neck. An inverted cup 22,.is suspendedirom the under side of the inclined partition 6 above the ball-5, this cup serving to limit. the movement of the ball from its seat over the port 4.

The cap is recessed upon 7 The valve just described is adapted to function as follows: When the bottle is restedin upright position the ball 5 covers the port 4 and e bottle, through ports 4, In and 8, in the order named, and finally through vent I5 inthe cap,

I3. The course of the liquid is indicated by dotted line arrows in Fig. 3.

By reason of the ard flange IS, the balls 5 and 9 are inaccessible to wires, prongs cr'other implements inserted downwardly through. the neck of the bottle.

These balls provide positive check against refilling the bottle, when once emptied, under any conditions. The attempted introduction of liquid into the bottle when the latter is in an upright position causes the ball-91 to move-from closing position with respect .to g

the port 8 into closing position with relation to I the port I0 to block the downward passage of. the

liquid. Even should the ball 9 in some manner be raised into the top of the cage I to open both ports 8 and III, this would still be insufiicient because ball 5 would prevent the flow of liquid into the bottle through the port 4. 7

When the bottle is submerged in a generally horizontal position withina tank of liquid, the

' ball 9 seats either over the port 8 or over the port 1 I0, depending upon how the bottle is turned,so that in anyevent either the escape of the displaced air from the bottle or-the pressure of the.

liquid entering the valve will hold the ballupon its seat and interrupt the flow of liquid.

By applying a vacuum to the neck of the bottle,

the ball 9 is sucked tightly down into seating engagement with the port 8 so as to preclude the passage of liquid into the bottle through this port.

From the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of our invention it will be apparent that we have devised a valve for non-refillable bottles which is simple, reliable and fool-proof in operation and which lends itself to economical manufacture. We are aware that changes in ;the form, construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of our valve may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of our invention, as defined in the following claims: V

We claim:

1. A valve for non-refillable bottle a plug adapted to fit within and close the'neck of a bottle, a port provided by said plug come municating with the openneck of the bottle, a

gravity-seated ball normally overlying andclos mg said port, a hollow cage located above said plug and of smaller maximum diameter than the plug, communicating ports opening through the bottom and side walls of said cage, said lastmentioned portsbeing located closely adjacent V and at approximately right-angles to each other, enlargements upon the exterior of the cage adapted to engage the bottle neck and close off external communication between the cage ports,

a closure member adapted to seat against and close either of said last-mentioned ports,,the top of said cage providing clearance to receive and retain said closure member out ofobstructing relation to both of said last-mentioned ports to comprising V permit the flow of liquid therebetween, and a partition extending between the plug and the cage, said partition being so constructed and arranged as to provide separate passages extending between the first-mentioned port and the side-wall port of the cage and between the bottom-wall port of the cage and the open neck of the bottle.

2. A valve for non-refillable bottles comprising a hollow plug adapted to fit within and close the neck of a bottle, a port provided by said plug communicating with the open neck of the bottle, a gravity-seated ball normally overlying and closing said port, a hollow cage located above said plug and of smaller maximum diameter than the plug, communicating ports opening through the bottom and side walls of said cage, said lastmentioned ports being located closely adjacent and at approximately right-angles to each other, enlargements upon the exterior of the cage adapted to engage the bottle neck and close 01f external communication between the cage ports, a second gravity-seated ball adapted to seat against and close either of said last-mentioned ports, the top of said cage providing clearance to v receive and retain said second ball out of obstructing relation to both of said last mentioned ports to permit the flow of liquid therebetween, a partition extending between the plug and the cage, said partition being so constructed and arranged as to provide separate passages extending between the first-mentioned port and the sidewall port of the cage and between the bottomwall port of the cage and the open neck of the bottle, and an apertured guard extending laterally from said cage to prevent access to said balls.

3. A valve for non-refillable bottles comprising a hollow, cylindrical plug member, a hollow cage located above the plug member and a cylindrical cap member located above the cage, said plug member and cap member corresponding in diameter to the diameter of the neck of a bottle in which the valve is to be inserted and said cage being of smaller diameter than said plug and cap members, a port opening centrally through the bottom of the plug member and adapted to communicate with the open neck of the bottle, a gravity-seated ball normally closing said port, a cover partially closing the top of the plug and overhanging said ball, said cover providing a laterally-offset outlet through the top of the plug member, ports opening through the bottom and side walls of the cage and located closely adjacent and at approximately right-angles to each other, enlargements upon the exterior of the cage adapted to engage the bottle neck and close off external communication between the cage ports, a second gravity-seated ball adapted to roll from normal closing position with respect to the bottom port to the side-wall port of the cage, the top of said cage being formed to receive and retain said second ball out of obstructing relation to both of said cage ports in bottle-pouring position to permit the flow of liquid therebetween, a partition member extending between the cage and the plug cover and corresponding in width to the diameter of the plug and cap members, said partition member bei so arranged as to define with the neck of the bottle a closed passageway extending between the outlet in the top of the plug member and the side-wall port of the cage, an opening through the cap member providing communication with the bottom port in the cage on the opposite side of the partition from the side port of the cage, and means for locking said valve within the neck of a bottle.

GEORGE S. RIDNER, SR. GEORGE S. RIDNER, JR. 

